Business Systems Analyst and User Experience Designer with over 10 years' experience supporting various size companies and non-profit organizations with their web-based projects. Worked on projects ranging from a 200-hour web site re-design for a non-profit organization to 5000-hour upgrade projects for a financial application and have participated in all facets of the software development lifecycle. Since being laid off at the end of 2017, I have been looking for a position fitting my skill set, while expanding my volunteer activities and participating in online webinars and coursework to keep my skills current.
ExperienceSkillsEducation
Professional Experience
Freelance Ann Arbor, MI2018 - present
Redesign and upgrade of non-profit website to allow online payment and registration for classes and events.
Interface re-design and technical writing projects for several non-profit organizations, including editing, re-formatting, and archiving information.
FIS Global Ann Arbor, MI2008 - 2017
Financial services technology company. Part of a group that provided a web-based cash management application allowing over 500 customers to manage corporate cash flow and exchange financial data with other institutions.
Business Systems Analyst
Most of the projects I worked on were foocused on moving the application from a mainframe⁄green-screen-based system to a web-based application, aimed at modernizing the product and providing a simpler and more aesthetically pleasing experience for our users.
Recurring activities
Conducted quality assurance and usability testing before each release to ensure specifications for design and functionality were followed for each of 3 yearly product updates.
Maintained and updated a semi-functional prototype of the web-based application to provide a demo product for potential customers and the development team using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Maintained and updated a set of user guides for the product; one for each of the 5 levels of users, with separate guides, at the lowest 2 levels, for each service provided to those users; a total of 9 guides each release.
Projects
Created custom functionality and interface screens for a new client using the existing application infrastructure, allowing their approximately 300 customers to exchange financial information and finalize payment amounts.
Created input file parsing and output file formatting specifications based on existing Excel spreadsheets.
Created reports for customers to view online based on existing Access reports.
As part of an effort to move toward providing a device-responsive web application, led a team of 3 developers and 2 quality assurance specialists in a project to upgrade the front-end code from an HTML table-based layout to an HTML5/CSS-based layout.
Created a pattern library to maintain consistent layouts throughout the application.
Created wireframes for mobile device layouts.
Created work flows and file parsing / formatting specifications to enable files to be automatically transmitted via the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) network.
Based on discussions with customer support team members, researched and designed new online tools and made revisions to existing tools that cut their response time to customers by 50%.
Revised existing workflow and functionality to fully automate the calculation and initiation of cash management transactions on the web using data stored in the application database.
Created data flow and file formatting specifications for various types of billing files to be automatically produced by the cash management system; some sent to the finance group for their invoicing process and some sent directly to clients for their information.
Created online branding process to allow customer support team members to apply client-specified branding (page element colors and images) to the application.
Menlo Innovations Ann Arbor, MI2007
Software design and development consultancy using and teaching agile methodologies.
Hi-Tech Anthropologist (UI/UX Designer)
Participated in design of data entry screens and data flow and file naming conventions for medical device software.
Michigan Nanotechnology Institute (M-NIMBS) Ann Arbor, MI2005 - 2007
Research institute at the University of Michigan focused on the use of nanotechnology in medicine and the biological sciences and creating interest and collaboration both inside and outside the unversity.
Web Developer
Created a new informational website that helped attract over 200 participants to a symposium hosted by the institute.
Created site architecture (site outline, site diagrams, wireframes) and interface design from existing content and meetings with the client.
Implemented the site using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Perl.
Additional Experience & Volunteer Activities
Additional Experience
Held System Analyst positions with the Travlers Companies and Chase Manhattan Bank.
Revised existing systems to capture relevant and accurate data specified by actuaries and designed an online data entry system to replace paper forms.
Improved data entry speed and accuracy for international money transfer system and conducted task analysis with users as part of designing a new interface for the system.
Volunteering
Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club, Ann Arbor, MI
Board of Directors, Treasurer, Competition Registration Co-Chair, Webmaster
Associations
UXPA (Usability Professionals' Association)
UX/UI Design
Task analysis
User needs analysis
System/Functional requirements
Information architecture
Work & Data flow diagrams
Site diagrams
Wireframes & Prototypes
(Paper sketches –> functional)
Responsive design
Visio, Figma, Balsamiq, InVision, SnagIt
Accessibility analysis
Development
HTML5, (X)HTML
CSS3
JavaScript
jQuery
Bootstrap**
XML/XSL*
PHP**
SQL*, MySQL**
Ajax*
JSON**
Python**
Other skills
Technical writing
MS Office
(Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)
Cross-browser compatability
MS Visual Studio
AdobeCS*
Drupal*
RoboHelp**
Framemaker**
Formal Education
Washtenaw Community College Ann Arbor, MI
Advanced Certificates:Web User Experience, Web Graphic Design
Certificates:Web Technology, Technical Writing
Pace UniversityNew York, NY
MBA:Information Systems
University of the State of New YorkAlbany, NY
BA:Liberal Arts / Economics
Online Education
Certificates
UI/UX Design(Design, Wireframing, Prototyping - Coursera / CA Institue of the Arts)
Web Design(HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Resp. Design - Coursera / U of MI)
Web Applications(PHP, mySQL, jQuery - Coursera / U of MI)
Courses
Working with Data on the Web(JSON, XML, HTML5, YAML - LinkedIn Learning)